


Breathe In The Light

by StarSpangledBucky



Category: Ant-Man (2015), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adults, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Anxiety, At First They Don't Feel Their Connection When They Meet, Bearded Steve Rogers, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Tony, Blow Jobs, Bottom Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, College, Comfort, Depictions Of War Violence, Emotional, Engineer Tony Stark, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Feelings, Feels, First Dates, First Kiss, First Meetings, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Male Character, Happy Ending, Intimacy, Jarvis Is A Cat, Love, M/M, Military History, Missed Train, Nightmares, Not Steve And Tony Though, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Soulmates, Steve Feels, Steve Has To Find His Soulmate Before The End Of His 26th Birthday, Steve Is Horrible At Dates, Teenagers, Tony Feels, Top Steve Rogers, Train Stations, True Love, War, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Wedding Night, Wingman Bucky, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, art teacher steve, failed dates, later on, mention of character deaths, soulmate dreams
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 23:41:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4541958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarSpangledBucky/pseuds/StarSpangledBucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Steve Rogers is given the news that he has to find his soulmate before the end of his 26th birthday, it sends him on a wild race against time to find his soulmate. If he fails, Steve’s consequence is never getting the opportunity to find another soulmate, to which he will be alone for the rest of his life. After a missed train to the last place he thinks he’d find his soulmate, Steve meets Tony. Who just happens to be more than just a friendly stranger there to comfort him through his lost chance.</p>
<p>“I had one chance left to have my life changed forever, and I blew it by missin’ my damn train. I don’t know how I’ll cope. But, love sucks I guess, this whole soulmates bullshit must drive people to insanity. Yet I feel like I needed them, fuck it…I needed him,”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cover Art

**Author's Note:**

> I've never done a soulmate AU before, so I'm having a crack at it. This will be multiple chapters, I'm not sure how many there will be. Some may be short, some may be long. The first chapter will introduce Tony & Steve finding out about the soulmate marks, and then the second chapter will surround itself around Tony, the third will surround itself around Steve and so on. 
> 
> Thank you to CumberRachel for discussing it all with me while I planned it, much appreciated <3
> 
> Inspired by these lyrics:   
> Since I was young, I knew I'd find you  
> But our love was a song sung by a dying swan  
> And in the night, you hear me calling  
> You hear me calling  
> And in your dreams you see me falling, falling
> 
> Breathe in the light  
> I'll stay here in the shadow  
> Waiting for a sign, as the tide grows  
> Higher, and higher, and higher


	2. So It Goes...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve find out the meaning behind their soulmate marks

**June 7th 2005 ~ Manhattan ~ Tony**

Tony Stark was only sixteen when he noticed a small _’S’_ etched on his wrist. It was bold and faded slightly, but clear enough for Tony and anyone else close by to see. When he ran his thumb over it, it felt like it had raised on his skin, like a burn scar that had been tattooed over. Tony had been working on some homework for his engineering class when he felt the faintest sting on his skin. It was then that Tony panicked, because he wasn’t quite sure was it was, he’d never seen anything like it. With a shaky breath, Tony stood from where he was sitting at his desk, glancing down at the letter once again. He was just about to step out of his bedroom when there was a knock at the door.

“Son?” a voice called.

It was his father, Howard, they weren’t always on good terms with each other, but Tony knew that nothing was ever perfect. He grabbed the door handle and opened the door, staring up at his dad with his dark hair that was starting to grey, the neat moustache over his upper lip and dark brown eyes. Tony had his eyes, the rest of his genes were mostly from his mother, Maria, who he could hear humming away in the kitchen.

“What’s the matter sport?” Howard asked.

“Dad I-” Tony paused, holding up his wrist. “What’s this?” he questioned.

Howard grabbed Tony’s hand gently in his, bringing his son’s wrist up for a closer look. A look of surprise crossed his face as he touched the raised bit of skin, before dropping Tony’s hand.

“Come with me son, we need to have a talk,” he issued.

“But I’m doing homework,” Tony sighed.

“It won’t take long, this is important, we need you to know so you don’t have issues when you’re an adult,” Howard mused.

Tony simply nodded and followed Howard out into the dining and kitchen area, his cat Jarvis, weaving between his feet on the way. He picked the feline up and let him curl into his arms, running his hand down Jarvis’ soft fur. Jarvis had a tendency to keep Tony calm whenever he had a talk with his parents, because most of the time it was for school reasons where his grades weren’t doing so good. But this wasn’t even about his grades right now, this was about the odd mark on his wrist. Tony couldn’t exactly help the sick feeling in his stomach. _Was it a mark for death? Was it a mark for where he’d be separated from his family should there be a natural disaster or something?_ He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, feeling Jarvis paw at his shirt gently and nuzzle under Tony’s chin to comfort him.

“Thanks J,” he whispered.

“Maria, sweetheart, we need to have _that_ talk with Tony,” Howard announced.

There was a clatter and Tony just knew his mother had dropped something into the soapy suds in the sink.

“Oh…so soon?” she replied.

Her voice was sweet and soothing and Tony always found comfort in it when he was much younger having a kid’s typical _‘there’s monsters under my bed’_ dream. Maria would sing to him, she still would from time to time, but not like she used to. He was growing up now, he didn’t need to be lulled to sleep anymore.

“He’s got the mark Maria,” Howard responded.

“It must have appeared last night. I was told it’d probably appear about seven or nine days after one of his birthdays,” Maria hummed.

Tony averted his gaze from Jarvis when he heard the two chairs across from him scrape across the floor, his heart drumming away in his chest.

“Tony, you’re not in trouble okay? And the mark you have isn’t bad,” Maria soothed.

The brunette exhaled deeply from the breath he was holding in.

“We do have to tell you what it is though,” Howard started. “You see, at some point in someone’s life they will find someone they want to settle down with. Like your mother and I. But it’s a little different with how it works. When I was nineteen I got the letter _’M’_ on my wrist and when your mother was seventeen she got the letter _'H’_ on hers. I had the same talk with my parents, they told me that it’s the beginning of your search for a soulmate,” he continued.

“What’s a soulmate?” Tony queried.

“Someone who will love you for who you are, honey. Your soulmate becomes your best friend, your soulmate is the one you’ll spend the rest of your life with,” Maria answered.

“When your mother and I grew up, more letters started to appear on our wrists. Now you do get a choice with your soulmate. If you’re only interested in females you’ll get a female name on your wrist, if you’re only interested in men you’ll get a male name on your wrist. But, if you’re interested in either or you might get a female name or you might get a male name. Usually when you reach your twenties you start having dreams or visions of certain features of your soulmate, usually hair colour, eye colour. It helps you narrow down who might be your soulmate. Eventually you’ll know the gender of your soulmate if you prefer both men and women, so again that narrows down your search. When you find your soulmate you’ll feel a warmth and fullness throughout your body and it will feel different to anything else. Right now I bet you feel cold and empty yes?” Howard asked.

Tony nodded slowly.

“Alright, that’s because you’re missing your soulmate. Because I’m with your mother we feel the warmth everyday because we’re soulmates and we found each other because of these marks on our wrists. Most people have a time frame to find their soulmate. If they don’t, they won’t get a second chance. So Tony, like me, you’re lucky, because you have until you’re thirty to find your soulmate and I think you’ll find them before then,” Howard explained.

“What if my soulmate doesn’t want to be with me?” Tony huffed out.

“That’s the thing darling, your soulmate always wants you,” Maria crowed, reaching out to rest her hand on Tony’s. “They are called your soulmate for a reason. You two will feel connected instantly and love will flow over, just like that,” she added.

Although it was hard for Tony to take it all in, he really did like the idea of having a soulmate just waiting for him. But finding his soulmate was going to be the hard part. He had to find them before he was thirty and if the name didn’t show on his wrist by then, he figured he was screwed. Tony swallowed thickly, letting Jarvis hop off his lap as he looked from Howard, to Maria, and back to the table. He wouldn’t be bothered if his soulmate was male or female, Tony was going through a stage of experimentation and questioning what he really liked. So far he liked both genders, so it was all a matter of dreaming about his soulmate and figuring out whether they were a man or a woman. It did make Tony feel warm inside, but only for a mere moment before he felt cold and empty again, chewing on his bottom lip.

“You can go back and do your homework now son,” Howard spoke.

“Okay…thank you for telling me, both of you,” Tony chimed.

Maria smiled affectionately at her son, taking Howard’s hand in hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. Tony pushed his chair back under the table and started to walk away, before turning back at the end of the hallway.

“Hey mom, dad,” he called.

“Yes sweetie?” Maria called back.

“I’m glad you two found each other,” he uttered.

He didn’t have to go back and look to know that Maria would be beaming and Howard would be laughing at her for getting so bubbly about their son. Tony closed his door behind him, drowning out the sounds of laughter and happiness as he switched his stereo on. AC/DC played at a respectable volume, for now, as he went back to his desk and sat down, grabbing pencils and pens to sketch designs on his sketchpad. Yet, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the letter on his wrist, his mind swimming with possible soulmates he might get.

“Dammit,” he hissed.

Tony shoved all his homework away and ripped a page from his book, drawing a line right down the middle. On one side he wrote _'female’_ , the other he wrote _'male’_. And from there, he started to write down possible names for his soulmates that started with _’S’._ Tony already wished he was older now, the excitement was real and strong. In his heart he was determined to find the one person who would change his life forever.

_“…and when one of them meets the other half, the actual half of himself, whether he be a lover of youth or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy and one will not be out of the other’s sight, as I may say, even for a moment…”_

* * *

**July 10th 2005 ~ Brooklyn ~ Steve**

Steve Rogers had recently turned fifteen when his soulmate mark appeared on his wrist. A _’T’_ was branded on the left side of his wrist, written in a cursive font and faded. He’d been unaware of it until he was leaving school, being chased by some ratbag students in his art class. The blonde was running down a dank alleyway when he felt the slight burn on his skin. He looked down and saw the mark, breath hitching in his throat. His friend Bucky had the same one, except his was a _'B’_ in an italic font, with a blue tinge. Bucky was older than him by three years now, having just turned eighteen in March and Steve knew Bucky’s mark had shown when he was only fifteen.

“There he is!” a voice yelled.

He was on the run again, feeling his chest constrict every now and again. It wasn’t exactly a good idea for Steve to be running so fast when he had a bad case of asthma, along with other health issues. Steve hated it because in the colder months he was mostly bed ridden, but Bucky would always come to his house and keep him company. He didn’t have a huge friend group, but Bucky, Natasha, Thor and Sam were enough for Steve. As he rounded the corner to his street, he could feel his lungs burning, practically screaming at him to stop. Steve’s hands reached into his pockets to grab his inhaler, his knees buckling under him as he hit the stairs to his house. By then the students chasing him had given up, seeing as Steve had made it home, and no doubt his parents would be there. His parents were fairly protective when it came to Steve, but Steve would always insist that he could _'get by on his own’_. He said that far too many times if anything.

“Fuck,” he cursed, exhaling hoarsely as he fished his inhaler out from the inside pocket of his jacket.

“Stevie?” a voice spoke.

Steve looked up and smiled with relief upon seeing Bucky strolling down the path towards him. Bucky was fairly taller than Steve, and good looking, in Steve’s eyes anyway. His short brunette hair, piercing blue-grey eyes and clean shaven face always drove Steve a little bit dolally. Not to mention Bucky was fit and healthy and Steve was just this shrimp of a teenager, shaggy blonde hair, pretty baby blue eyes and lanky. If it weren’t for his health issues he’d try his best to get a bit of muscle on himself.

“Hey Buck,” he replied, finally.

“Were those punks chasing you again?” Bucky asked, frowning in turn.

“Yeah, I’m okay though,” Steve muttered.

“I wish you’d let me walk you home from school,” Bucky huffed, plonking his ass down beside Steve. “One of these days they’re going to outrun you and I’m gonna’ find you in some alley somewhere barely breathing,” he added, a lick of panic in his tone.

“Buck…I can get by on my own,” Steve uttered.

“You always say that Steve. I don’t like the feeling I get when I wonder if you’re gonna’ make it home,” Bucky mused.

“I’m sorry Buck,” Steve answered.

Bucky smiled softly and swung his arm around Steve’s shoulder, bringing him in for a hug. Steve always felt safe around Bucky and he knew he could tell his best friend everything. They’d been best friends since they were kids and it was evident that one couldn’t be without the other. If it hadn’t been for the soulmate marks in life, Steve and Bucky would most likely be the not so unexpected couple of the century. They already fought like a damn married couple.

“I’m on my way, I’ll be fifteen minutes tops,” a rough voice spoke.

The pair turned to see Steve’s father, Joseph, dressed in his paramedic uniform, phone pressed to his ear. _Typical_ Steve thought. Steve had his father’s eyes and his mothers blonde hair and some of her other facial characteristics, it was most likely why himself and his mother, Sarah, got along better than himself and his father. Joseph and Sarah both worked in the medical career, Joseph a paramedic and Sarah a nurse, so Steve hardly saw them due to them being on call quite a lot. It bothered Steve because he wanted to talk about this mark on his wrist, sooner rather than later.

“Hey Steve, Bucky, you okay buddy?” he questioned.

“Fine dad, just feeling a little tired that’s all. Have you got a minute?” Steve queried.

“Uh, sorry I can’t son,” Joseph sighed, looking at his watch. “Duty calls,” he continued.

“Dad this is really important,” the blonde protested.

“Your mother and I will be home for dinner, I’m sorry, I really have to go,” Joseph murmured, before going back to his phone.

Steve groaned and lent against the railing on the stairs, hitting his head gently once or twice. Bucky raised an eyebrow, before resting his hand on Steve’s knee.

“What’s wrong pal?” he asked.

“It’s nothing, it’s probably something I should talk to my parents about,” Steve mumbled.

“They won’t be home for dinner you know that right,” Bucky issued.

“Wow, thanks Buck,” Steve grunted. “Do you mind if I have dinner at your place?” he questioned.

“Stevie, you’re always welcome y'know. Ma loves seeing you, dad too,” Bucky grumbled.

“Buck…I-” Steve paused. “I’ve got that thing, the thing that you’ve got,” he added, holding up his wrist.

Bucky’s eyes widened as he snatched Steve’s wrist in his hands and stared at the _’T’_ raised on Steve’s skin.

“Come on, we’re gonna’ go home and have a talk,” he said.

Steve only nodded as he stood up and followed Bucky down the street, Bucky’s house only three down from his own. He stood behind Bucky as they made their way inside, jazz music playing in the lounge and soft humming coming from the kitchen. Bucky poked his head into the kitchen, startling his mother, Winifred, who was making dinner.

“James, you scared me,” she scolded.

“Sorry Ma, hey uh…Steve’s staying for dinner, his parents are out again,” the brunette hummed.

“Oh alright, hello Steve!” Winifred called.

“Hi Mrs Barnes!” Steve called back.

“Steve, for the thousandth time, call me Winifred or Ma, whatever you want,” Winifred chuckled.

Bucky snickered and lightly punched Steve on the shoulder.

“We’re just going down to my room. I need to have a talk to Steve. Y'know, _that_ talk,” he replied.

“Oh, well, make sure and explain it thoroughly for him,” Winifred warned.

“Yeah Ma, come on Steve,” Bucky crowed, grabbing Steve’s hand and guiding him down to his room.

Steve was ushered into Bucky’s room, the door slamming gently behind them as he pushed Steve back, the backs of his legs hitting off the bed. He grabbed another chair and sat across from Steve whose eyes were wide from the sudden actions of his best friend. Bucky rested his elbow on his thigh and his chin on his clenched fist, staring st Steve intently.

“Listen Stevie, this is gonna’ sound weird, but you need to know so you’re prepared,” he mused, running his free hand down his face.

“Bucky, what are you talking about?” Steve groaned.

“That mark on your arm isn’t just _any_ mark. It’s a soulmate mark,” he continued.

“A what!” Steve exclaimed.

“Shh, inside voice Steve,” the brunette lectured.

“What’s a soulmate mark?” the blonde tested.

“Some people get their soulmate mark in their teen years, some have them when they’re born. The letter is to let us know the name of our soulmate. Everyone gets a soulmate and this is what these are for. Basically we’re destined to be with these people and there’s always chemistry. Nobody has ever met their soulmate and not felt the warmth or chemistry between them. When we meet our soulmates we don’t feel cold or empty anymore, we feel complete. Ma had a _'G’_ on her wrist when she was destined to meet dad, and he had a _'W’_ on his wrist. Just a few days ago I got the second letter to my soulmate, means they’re getting closer,” Bucky explained, lifting up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal a _'BR’_ on his wrist now.

“That’s a lot of names to go through,” Steve scoffed.

“Not really, because, some of us might just want a male soulmate, some of us might just want a female soulmate. Others might want either or, they don’t mind. I mean mines obviously gonna’ be a guy, y'know, yours too Stevie,” he chimed, clucking his tongue and grinning at Steve.

“Shut up,” Steve laughed, throwing a pillow at Bucky. “Hey yours might be Bruce Banner from science class,” he jeered.

Bucky snorted.

“If it was his name would have fully appeared on my wrist you dick,” he cackled. “When you meet your soulmate their name appears in full on your wrist and it also burns a little,” he added.

“So my soulmates name starts with _’T’_ hm, there’s a fair few guys names with that letter,” Steve sighed.

“You’ll find each other, somehow, I hope. This is a great opportunity in life Steve. We only get one chance. But I can’t tell you how long you’ve got, I wouldn’t know. It’s something your parents know,” the brunette informed.

“If I ever get the chance to talk to them,” Steve bit back.

“You will. I’ll be your wingman the whole way through. I’m with you 'till the end of the line pal,” Bucky soothed.

Steve smiled sadly.

“Yeah…thanks Buck,” he whispered.

Negative thoughts swirled around in his head, all Steve could think about was not finding his soulmate. Steve was never good at dating, he’d never been on a date in fact. Which only made finding his soulmate ten times worse.

_" Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies..."_


End file.
